Licking Valley Driving School

Richard Ross began his career in driver education in 1961 while working for Drive Safe Systems Inc. in Dayton, Ohio. After nine years with the company across multiple locations in Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Texas, he returned home to start his own business. In 1970, Mr. Ross opened Licking Valley Driving School in Newark, Ohio. Initially operating on the third floor of the Reinhart building, the school later moved to the basement. By 1973, we expanded into Zanesville with the opening of Muskingum County Driving School. Between 1970 and the mid-1980s, Licking Valley Driving School partnered with local school districts to provide driver education for 19 high schools across a four-county area. This program continued until state law changes allowed public high schools to run their own courses. In 1975, our Newark location relocated to the basement of the AAA building at 130 W. Main St., where we operated as AAA Licking Valley Driving School. We remained there until AAA corporate headquarters ended its franchise program for driving schools. In 1992, we moved to our current location at 224 Granville St. in Newark. In 1996, Mr. Ross retired from daily ownership but stayed on as CEO and advisor as his daughter, Debbie Grandstaff, and her husband, George, took over operations. From 1970 to today, our mission has remained simple: to serve our community by providing high-quality instruction at a fair price. Thousands of students have graduated under this guiding principle, and we remain committed to these values. Throughout our decades in business, we may have even taught your parents, and we look forward to continuing our tradition of safe, reliable driver education for many years to come.